The Department of Education will be conducting roundtable discussions to inform its policy in the areas of teacher preparation and college completion. On the day following each public hearing, the Department intends to conduct three roundtable discussions at the same location as the public hearing, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time. The Department also intends to conduct a roundtable discussion at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee on May 12, 2011. The Department may further hold additional roundtable discussions, which will be announced on the Department’s Web site at: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2011/roundtable.html

The Department intends to use these roundtable discussions to inform our postsecondary education policies in three key areas – teacher preparation and college completion, and First in the World. Each of the four roundtable discussions will focus on three topics. The one topic will be the design and implementation plans for teacher preparation programs, including: (1) the proposed Presidential Teaching Fellows program along with funding for the already authorized Honorable Augustus F. Hawkins Centers for Excellence program (subpart 2, title II of the HEA); (2) ways in which the Department can streamline institutional reporting requirements; and (3) potential regulations regarding State identification of low-performing teacher preparation programs pursuant to sections 205 and 207 of the HEA.

A second topic will be the College Completion, with a focus on obtaining analysis, evaluations, and recommendations concerning State-level reform efforts that show the most promise for increasing college completion. We will also discuss the College Completion Incentive Grants program, proposed in the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget; that would encourage States to make systemic reforms in their higher education systems to increase the number of students who complete a postsecondary degree or certificate program and would reward institutions that are successful in increasing their completion rates.

The third topic will be possible priorities and structure for a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) “First in the World” competition proposed in the President’s FY 2012 budget. The purpose of this discussion is to obtain analyses and recommendations concerning institutional reform efforts that show the most promise for increasing college completion, expanding institutional capacity, and improving quality of outcomes. These analyses and recommendations will be used to inform the development of competitive preference and invitational priorities and the structure of the FIPSE “First in the World” competition.

While the Department intends to invite representatives of students, families, teachers, teacher educators, college access professionals, and college success practitioners to participate in these roundtable discussions, the roundtable discussions will be open to the public with opportunities to provide public comment. Individuals desiring to participate in the roundtable discussions must register by sending an email to HigherEducationRoundtable.2011@ed.gov. The email should include the name of the participant, his or her affiliation, and identify which policy roundtable discussion she or he would like to participate in, and at which location. We will attempt to accommodate each participant’s preference but, if we are unable to do so, we will make the determination based on the time and date the email was received. The Department will notify registrants by email of the specific location and roundtable he or she was selected to participate in. An individual may only participate in one roundtable discussion per location. If we receive more registrations than we are able to accommodate, the Department reserves the right to reject the registration of an entity or individual that is affiliated with an entity or individual that is scheduled to participate in the roundtable discussion and to select among registrants to ensure that a broad range of entities and individuals are allowed to present. We will accept walk-in participants on a first-come first-served basis beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the day of each roundtable discussion at the Department’s on-site registration table.

For those unable to attend one of the policy roundtables, we will accept written comments and suggestions. We must receive written comments suggesting issues that should be considered for action by the negotiating committees on or before May 20, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not accept comments by fax or by e-mail. Please submit your comments only one time, in order to ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies. In addition, please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.

Privacy Note: The Department’s policy for comments received from members of the public (including those comments submitted by mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery) is to make these submissions available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly available on the Internet.